Auditing the EU accounts....
Now there's a strange concept - do you expect them to be a solid, truthful financial statement, or something to the contrary. Actually probably those accounts should be filed in the "fiction" section of the library, not too far from the British Rail timetable. (or at least would be if they were ever to be published)

Wot...hic...at least one could rely on the timetables to a degree...hic....

Going by other articles attached to your attachment Sirius, you almost get the
feeling that both Germany & France are resigned to the fact that the EU may
finally crumble leaving just the two of them united together....as it should have
always been from the off.

The Kite Fliers

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Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

He believes the EU needs to change to allow Britain, or other member states, not to be bound by all its decisions. Ahead of the talks, he told European newspapers support for EU membership was now "wafer-thin" in the UK. Mr Cameron has argued a new settlement is needed before UK voters are asked if they want to end ties with Brussels.

It's not rocket science. Cameron wants us to stay in Europe, and he knows that a vote today would take us out. Therefore he is putting off the vote for as long as he can, trying to do a better deal that will make us vote to stay in. Give us a vote to revert to the original idea of an EEC, and he would get it a lot sooner.

He believes the EU needs to change to allow Britain, or other member states, not to be bound by all its decisions. Ahead of the talks, he told European newspapers support for EU membership was now "wafer-thin" in the UK. Mr Cameron has argued a new settlement is needed before UK voters are asked if they want to end ties with Brussels.

It's not rocket science. Cameron wants us to stay in Europe, and he knows that a vote today would take us out. Therefore he is putting off the vote for as long as he can, trying to do a better deal that will make us vote to stay in. Give us a vote to revert to the original idea of an EEC, and he would get it a lot sooner.

Just a shame that he's not a Maggie Thatchers, she would have frit the life out
of them across the water and we would have had this all sorted by now.

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Correct Nick, she was a notable Eurosceptic, but mainly towards the end of her administration. But her heyday was in the 1980's, 30 years on the world has changed. Her way of doing things might not work so well today.

Correct Nick, she was a notable Eurosceptic, but mainly towards the end of her administration. But her heyday was in the 1980's, 30 years on the world has changed. Her way of doing things might not work so well today.

At the moment no, her way of doing all things most probably would not.
She became more Euro-sceptic the more she witnessed Europe going down
the single state road. As she once stated, "Europe is history", she saw no future in this
single state ideology that Europe wonted to adopt. Looking like she could be right.The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

.....ooops, pushed back to 2017.....So I'll repeat the question....Do you think we will get one regardless of what year?

Yes I do.

In his long-awaited speech, welcomed by many Conservative MPs, Mr Cameron pledged to hold a referendum during the early part of the next parliament by the end of 2017 at the latest - if the Conservatives win the next general election.

But he will hold it off as long as he can to try and ensure a yes vote.

especially if a meeting between the Mekon & Iron Lady took place.....Mekon would be totally marginalised...

Unless the negotiated terms are very favourable or a full return to the Common Market, with most of the useless Directives scrapped, I will vote to leave (no matter what) ...It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues

Oh my gosh, gulp, I have to agree with Sirius (again) I'll have to find those tablets the doc gave me :-) I was in my local newsagent this morning and every daily paper on the rack was saying more positive things about her than negative ones, and I think that also is the view of the majority of people. Some of us may have personal reasons for hating her, I don't know, but clearly they are in the minority. And lets remember, which some aren't, that she was the first ever British "WOMAN PRIME MINISTER". That alone is worth a statue. Wouldn't Emmeline Pankhurst have been proud!

Golly, we have me agreeing with Sirius, Hev and Sirius agreeing with each other, Me and Es on some agreement. Perhaps Thatcher left a bigger legacy than we thought ......

.....ooops, pushed back to 2017.....So I'll repeat the question....Do you think we will get one regardless of what year?

Yes I do.

In his long-awaited speech, welcomed by many Conservative MPs, Mr Cameron pledged to hold a referendum during the early part of the next parliament by the end of 2017 at the latest - if the Conservatives win the next general election.

But he will hold it off as long as he can to try and ensure a yes vote.

Oh dear, its looking like we won't get that referendum in 2050 let alone 2017.......

There are a number of points to consider here before we are tempted to jump to any hasty conclusions. Firstly we shouldn't read too much into the Camerons staying at the Mekons place, that is simply an International diplomatic courtesy, and if the situation was reversed, of course they would be staying at Chequers. Next, Cameron knows that if there was an EU vote today, the UK would vote to come out not because it was necessarily the right thing to do, but because anti EU public feeling has been whipped up by the media in general, and the press in particular. By putting it off as long as possible, he is getting the chance to re-negotiate our terms of membership, and hopefully get a better deal that is clearly worth us staying in.

But we also need to remember that the Europe as we know it is a combination of two things, the original EEC which made sense, and the latter day EU of political union. If we leave the EU we also leave the EEC where 50% of our exports go, and which grew in January by 14 percent, while imports only grew by 8.1%. I always quote "You need to be in it to win it" and "You can't throw stones at houses you don't live in". In the EU as a full partner, we can negotiate issues, and we can also at any time exercise our veto. Outside of it we have no control at all on what goes on, and what might directly affect us to our disadvantage.

OK, last point. Cameron has publicly pledged to give the UK a referendum "by the end of 2017 at the latest - if the Conservatives win the next general election". Presumably in "Cameron speak" that means a majority Conservative government, and not a continuation of the existing Coalition. At the present moment there are only three likely outcomes in 2015

A very slim majority Tory Government
A continuation of the existing coalition
A new Labour/Lib Dem coalition

So, has he offered anything he doesn't expect to have to live up to, or is he playing for very big stakes in the political poker game? Answers on a post card to 10 Downing Street, SW1A 2AA.

Well, I did stick to the more realistic ones! Let's see what the Council elections bring next month before we make too much of UKIP. The party was simply used as a protest vote in Eastleigh, they know it of course, but not unnaturally they are milking it for all it's worth. What odds is your local bookies giving for 2015?